This book has been out for over 10 years and I'm just now getting to it. I'm trying, honest to god. I've been reading this book on and off for about 2 months for the simple reason that it was a good filler book for in between other books I had on hold. This book tells the story of Susie Salmon who is brutally raped then murdered. It shows how her family copes with their grief and the mystery of the disappearance of the oldest Salmon child. I think that the audiobook does a great job of telling the story how the author imagined (mostly because the author is the narrator). This story does an interesting job of helping readers understand grief and acceptance of losing ones they love.
Characters:
Susie: She is an interesting perspective to follow from as she has an omniscient point of view for most of the storyline. She is all knowing and all seeing. She watches her family, friends, first love and killer grow up without her and sees a future she will never have. She gets to interact with those in her heaven as well but seems dead set on spending more of her time watching the living than anything else. I was happy that she was able to let go of her family and enjoy her heaven while they continued on in life.
Lindsey: I liked that she didn't take shit from anyone. Yes, she suffered the tragedy of losing her sister, but she was able to continue on bravely with Sam beside her. I loved them as a couple and was so excited to see them grow up together and get closer and closer.
Buckley: I wonder how he would have grown without his mother for a large part of his life, and then his mother coming back as he entered his preteens. That couldn't be easy for him.
Abigail (Mother): I understand why she did what she did, but it was extremely frustrating to hear about. I think the fact that she felt the need to run away and identifies Jack as being the stronger of the two of them was an interesting addition to the storyline. I do wonder if she would stay for the rest of their marriage though.
Jack (Father): He was strong enough to continue living while fighting to find his daughters killer. I was extremely frustrated that no believed that he could have guessed his daughters killer and that Harvey got away for such a long period of time. But it's not as though Susie was the first.
Ruth: I wonder how long she could see those who had passed into their heavens. Was it a constant thing or did it happen after Susie passed her? And how would it feel to leave your body to someone else and return knowing someone else had worn it (this sounds weird if you haven't read the book... I'm so sorry). I liked that she was unapologetically unique. She was so unique in her small town.
Sam: He and Lindsey were perfect for each other. They seemed to really even each other out. I wonder about their future but in a pleasant way where I don't need to see their future in writing to know that they would be happy.
Ray: I loved Ray as well, he dealt with being a suspect in a strong manner (especially with a strong as hell mother which is something I can appreciate). He and Ruth make an unusual pair of friends, but I love them.
Len: Not my favourite guy. He let Abigail in when she was grieving which is one thing, but maybe letting her sleep with you wasn't your best choice.
Grandma Lynn: Nothing like the drunk relative character. I enjoyed her as well. She told it how it was which is something I enjoyed listening to. I do wonder about her heaven.
George Harvey: This man is a sick freak. That's an understatement but the fact that we see some of his past was important to the storyline. He saw some things and did many more things that shouldn't have been seen or done. I was surprised how many murders and rapes he had committed without being caught, but at the same time, there was not the technology we have now to assist with solving crimes. I'm happy he met the end he did, although I hoped that he had driven right into the sinkhole and died from being crushed in surrounding eath, that would have a nice twinge of revenge to it. Cosmic revenge of course.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
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